Pray
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In the Morning
In the Morning
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
Remember that the primary purpose of Jesus life was to preach the lost
Following the arrest of Joh the Baptist Jesus began to preach
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
We see in verse 23 that as He preached there was a demonstration of miracles
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
The bible tells us that as the disciples preached the Holy Spirt moved!
And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it).
I say all of this to remind us that we need to be cultivating our relationship with the Holy Spirit!
Look at the opening verse again
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
If that be the case then we ought to be following His example!
Verse 35 tells us He prayed early
Jesus put the Father first, rising early in the morning to spend time with Him and so must we. We must give Him the first of our day before we do anything else. Jesus rose early in the morning to seek the face of God.
So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Prayer was the fuel for Him to maintain His vision, mission and relationship during the difficult times
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
So powerful was His prayer that it was transformative
As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.
The power in His ministry was His prayer life which fueled His faith
So connected are prayer and faith, Jesus prayed for Peter
But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
You see, Jesus knew that Peter was an impetuous person! Prayer and fasting take patience and determination and Peter was initially short on both!
Prayer is more than just speaking into the air hoping God hears! It is an opportunity for one to connect one-on-one with God
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
Jesus went alone to a solitary place
There are times for corporate prayer but the majority of the time is needs to be just us with Him!
Jesus gave us that instruction
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Praying together can sometimes lead to targeted prayer so others know our need and we hope someone responds
Praying alone is a sign of confidence and dependance!
It is when we are in the lonely empty places that we can pour out to Him
Heb
It is the very fact that on God knows that need that builds our faith when we see our prayers answered!
who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,
He put His entire self (emotionally, spiritually, mentally and His flesh) into His praying. He prayed until He was exhausted and had to have an angel come to strengthen Him
saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
Life is hard! Circumstances can be overwhelming but we have a refuge to pull into during the storms
Many times, it only the hand of heaven that can minister to our need!
Look at Lk 22:44
And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Or after Peter’s release from jail
So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.
They were not seeking the government for Peter’s release but pounding the heavens from which their help comes from!
I bring this to your attention because it is in prayer where we learn dependance and trust through the Holy Spirit
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
The difficult moment of prayer teaches us how to be yielded and surrendered.
As the words of Jesus, “not My will but Yours be done”
We see persistent praying taught and exemplified throughout scripture. Elijah stretched himself out over the widow’s son three times until his life returned to him (1 Kings 17:19-21); Elijah prayed for rain and had his servant look for a sign of rain seven times (1 Kings 18:41-44); The Syrophonician woman kept crying out to Jesus (Mark 7:24-30); Jacob wrestled with God until He blessed him (Genesis 32); A friend asking for bread at midnight (Luke 11:5-10); And the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8).
What is your perspective on prayer?
Do you see it a fuel for your faith?
Do you see it as lessons on surrender?
Or do you see it as “one more thing I have to do?
I want to encourage you today to pray without ceasing!
Take everything before the throne of Grace and seek His will not your own!
